A pair of waterfront apartment complexes, in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, traded last month in separate deals for over $21 million on a combined basis.
At nearly $1.1 million per unit, the properties sold for well over twice the going rate for a rental property in Orange County.
An 8-unit community in Laguna Beach at 2442 S. Coast Hwy., across the street from the coast, sold for $9 million, property records indicate.
The 9,364-square-foot property was fully occupied at sale when the buyer, San Diego-based real estate investor and developer Pacifica Companies, took the community off the hands of Vernon-based developer Avant Real Estate Inc., according to data from Costar Group Inc.
Attractions near the property include Arch Beach and the Casa Laguna Hotel.
Northmarq’s Matt Hauser and Peter Hauser double-ended the deal.
“We had a lot of interest in” the community, Peter Hauser told the Business Journal. “It just goes to show the strong buyer demand for coastal real estate in OC.”
Rental properties in OC in the first quarter traded for around $427,869 per unit on average, according to Colliers International.
Peninsula Trade
The day after 2442 S. Coast Hwy’s sale, an 11-unit complex along the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach traded for $12.15 million.
The 5,123-square-foot property, at 1628 W. Oceanfront, was also fully occupied at sale. The property, near Marina Park, is just steps from the sand of the Newport Beach coast and less than half a mile from the city’s pier.
Both the seller and buyer are private, Los Angeles County-based individuals: Jianhua Jin and Chantal Lo, respectively.
Lo has ties to Puente Hills Eye Care, an ophthalmology clinic in Hacienda Heights headed by Dr. Garlan Lo.
Improvements
It’s unclear if Lo has any upgrades or renovations planned for her new property.
Pacific Companies, however, is planning a facelift for the 2442 S. Coast Hwy property, most of whose units tout whitewater views and fireplaces.
“The exterior will have a more modern vibe,” Hauser said, noting the plans to repaint the property’s outside.
The company is also aiming to do some renovations on the apartment complex’s interiors, he added.
Following renovation, Pacifica will offer the property’s individual units up for sale under a tenancy in common ownership.
The arrangement “has been more popular in the Bay Area due to the region’s housing shortage,” Hauser said. “This would be the first of its kind in OC.”
The 2442 S. Coast Hwy property has traded several times between private and commercial investors since its completion in 1964.
The company first sold for $1.8 million in 2002, at around $222,000 per unit.
Three years later, the apartment complex sold for $2.6 million, which worked out to about $324,000 per unit.
The property in 2007 then sold for $4 million, or $500,000 per home unit.
Most previously, the apartment community traded in 2022 for $8.7 million, which amounted to about $108,000 per unit.
The property’s latest buyer, Pacifica Companies, owns over 30 million in real estate across the U.S., Mexico and India. Its portfolio comprises of senior housing, multifamily complexes, mixed-use projects and hotels.
